Savoury scones - Saturday morning breakfast

I'm an early waker these days and have more energy in the morning than any other time of day. Its gives me plenty of time to bake for breakfast in the weekends. I just love a savoury or sweet muffin or scone with a cuppa tea or coffee, especially when it's still warm from the oven!

I used a recipe from Ripe Recipes by Angela Redfern. She owns my favourite local cafe which is only a few hundred metres up the road. Not only do they do great coffee but their food is outstanding and right up my alley, style wise. As stated in her book, "Ripe's philosophy is simple, fresh, quality, seasonal, healthy food that's good value for money. It's all about getting back to basics, creating simple, tasty fare and thinking about where your food comes from".

I often purchase these scones but it's nice to be able to make them at home and they taste just the same, delicious!!!

Savoury cheese scones

Serves 6
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
50g unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup fresh curly parsley, finely chopped (I used italian parsley from the garden)
1 fresh tomato, diced
1 cup tasty cheese, grated
100g diced cooked bacon (optional)
1/2 cup milk, approx

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Grease an oven tray or line with baking paper. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Dice up the cold butter and rub it into the dry mixture using your fingertips until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add parsley, tomato, grated cheese and cooked bacon, combining well.
Add enough milk to lightly combine, sitrring lightly. Be careful not to overmix as this will toughen the scones. On a lightly floured surface, empty the mixture from the bowl and pat it together. Cut the dough into six pieces and place them on the baking tray. Brush with milk to glaze. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

...Mine needed much longer than the recipe stated, more like 20-25 mins...there's possibly something wrong with my oven! I also forgot to put the bacon in the mix so added it as a topping instead. I added 1/4 small onion finely chopped too and you could use ham in place of bacon and play around with any other savoury ingredients you have on hand.